Waterdrop (NYSE:WDH) & Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Head-To-Head Review

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) and Waterdrop (NYSE:WDH) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Progressive and Waterdrop”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Progressive	$91.02 billion	1.41	$11.31 billion	$19.94	11.06
Waterdrop	$568.81 million	0.63	$81.36 million	$0.21	4.76

Progressive has higher revenue and earnings than Waterdrop. Waterdrop is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Progressive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Progressive and Waterdrop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Progressive	12.84%	32.92%	8.85%
Waterdrop	12.47%	10.87%	7.94%

Dividends

Progressive pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Waterdrop pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Progressive pays out 2.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waterdrop pays out 23.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Progressive and Waterdrop, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Progressive	2	14	7	0	2.22
Waterdrop	0	2	0	0	2.00

Progressive presently has a consensus target price of $236.05, suggesting a potential upside of 7.00%. Waterdrop has a consensus target price of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 100.00%. Given Waterdrop’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Waterdrop is more favorable than Progressive.

Risk and Volatility

Progressive has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waterdrop has a beta of -0.09, meaning that its share price is 109% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.3% of Progressive shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of Waterdrop shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Progressive shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.6% of Waterdrop shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Progressive beats Waterdrop on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property. The Personal Lines segment writes insurance for personal autos and recreational vehicles (RV). This segment's products include personal auto insurance; and special lines products, including insurance for motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, watercrafts, snowmobiles, and related products. The Commercial Lines segment provides auto-related liability and physical damage insurance, and business-related general liability and property insurance for autos, vans, and pick-up trucks used by small businesses, as well as non-fleet taxis, black-car services, and airport taxis; tractors, trailers, and straight trucks primarily used by regional general freight and expeditor-type businesses, and long-haul operators; dump trucks used by light contractors and heavy constructions; log trucks and garbage trucks used by dirt, sand and gravel, logging, garbage/debris removal, and coal-type businesses; and tow trucks and wreckers used in towing services and gas/service station businesses. The Property segment writes residential property insurance for homeowners, other property owners, and renters, as well as offers manufactured homes, personal umbrella insurance, and primary and excess flood insurance. The company offers policy issuance and claims adjusting services; acts as an agent to homeowners, general liability, workers' compensation insurance, and other products; and reinsurance services. It sells its products through independent insurance agencies, as well as through mobile applications and over the phone. The Progressive Corporation was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

About Waterdrop

Waterdrop Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides online insurance brokerage services to match and connect users with related insurance products underwritten by insurance companies in the People's Republic of China. The company offers short-term health and long-term health and life insurance products and services. It also operates a medical crowdfunding platform. Waterdrop Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.